Kirklees

Kirklees' population expanded in the decade to 2011. At the same time there were changes in ethnicity, religion and housing tenure.

The population passed 420,000

In the 10 years leading up to 2011, the population of Kirklees increased by 8.7%, from just under 389,000 to 422,000.

The addition of just under 34,000 people means this area's population increased at a similar rate to the overall population of England (up 7.9% since the 2001 census).

In 2011, Kirklees was home to, on average, 7.4 people per football pitch-sized piece of land.

Population density was higher than the average across Yorkshire and The Humber

Population density (usual residents per football pitch-sized piece of land) across Yorkshire and The Humber, March 2011 (larger dots represent greater increase since 2001)

An older Kirklees

Census 2011 data also show a change in the local population's average age.

Between the last two censuses, the median age of Kirklees increased by two years, from 36 to 38 years.

This multi-cultural area had a slightly lower average age than Yorkshire and The Humber and remained slightly younger than the average local authority area across England (39 years of age).

The fall in age was because of an increase of almost 12,000 people between the ages of 60 and 69 years, while the population between 30 and 39 years decreased by just over 4,000.

About 11% of people in Kirklees are aged between 60 and 69 years

Percentage of usual residents in England, Yorkshire and The Humber and Kirklees by 10 year age band, March 2001 and March 2011

Ethnicity in Kirklees

The number of people in Kirklees from the Asian or Asian British ethnic groups increased from about 45,000 in 2001 to about 68,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 12% to 16% of the local population.

The percentage increased by more than the average across Yorkshire and The Humber (from 4.7% to 7.3%) and the average across England (from 5.2% to 8.0%).

The number of people in Kirklees from the White ethnic groups remained close to 330,000 between the last two censuses (from 86% to 79% of the population). The number of residents from Mixed/multiple ethnic groups (White and Asian, White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean or Other Mixed) increased from about 5,400 to about 9,800 (from 1.4% to 2.3%).

About 7,900 people (1.4%) said they were from the Black, Black British, Caribbean or African ethnic groups, up from just over 5,200 in 2001 (1.9%).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the ethnic profile of an area, such as migration and varying fertility rates between ethnic groups. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals choose to self-identify between censuses.

The population from the Asian or Asian British ethnic groups in Kirklees increased by 4.5 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in England, Yorkshire and The Humber and Kirklees by ethnicity, March 2001 and March 2011

Religion in Kirklees

The number of people in Kirklees that described themselves as Muslim increased from about 39,000 in 2001 to about 61,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 10% to 15% of the local population.

The percentage increased by more than the average across Yorkshire and The Humber (from 3.8% to 6.2%) and the average across England (from 3.2% to 5.2%).

The number of people in Kirklees that described themselves as Christian decreased from just over 260,000 in 2001 to just under 230,000 in 2011 (from 67% to 53%). The number of people who described themselves as having no religion increased from about 54,000 to just over 100,000 (from 14% to 24%).

Just over 27,000 people (7.3%) did not state their religion, down from about 28,000 in 2001 (6.5%).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the religious profile of an area, such as migration and varying fertility rates between religious groups. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals choose to self-identify between censuses.

The population who identified as Muslim in Kirklees increased by 4.4 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in England, Yorkshire and The Humber and Kirklees by religion, March 2001 and March 2011

More people worked short hours

The percentage of employed people in Kirklees working less than 16 hours increased from 1.8% to 3.3% in the 10 years leading up to the latest census.

In 2011, just under 1 in 11 (8.8%) people aged 16 to 74 (in employment the week before the Census 2011) said they had worked over 49 hours the week before completing the census, compared with 12% in 2001.

The proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week increased at a similar rate to the figure for the whole of Yorkshire and The Humber (from 1.8% in 2001 to 3.0% in 2011). Across England, the percentage increased from 1.9% to 3.1%.

The proportion of people working less than 16 hours in a week in Kirklees increased by 1.5 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents aged 16 to 74 (in employment the week before the Census 2011) in Kirklees, Yorkshire and The Humber and England that said they had worked less than 16 hours the week before completing the census, March 2001 and March 2011

Living alone in Kirklees

The percentage of one-person households changed very little in Kirklees, while the proportion increased in Calderdale (the local authority area that shares the largest boundary with Kirklees).

In Kirklees, the proportion of one-person households stayed close to 30% between the last two censuses. During the same period, the proportion in nearby Calderdale increased from 30% to 33%.

Across Yorkshire and The Humber, the share of one-person households increased from 30% to 31%.

The percentage of households with a cohabiting couple in Kirklees increased from 8.6% to 10%, while the percentage of households with a married couple decreased from 38% to 35%.

The percentage of households with only one person was lower than across Yorkshire and The Humber

Percentage of households that comprised only one person across local authority areas in Yorkshire and The Humber and the average across England, March 2011

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Area report data

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